Who is Dr. Nikolaos van Dam?

Dr. Nikolaos van Dam is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands in Jakarta.
Born 1 April 1945 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Married to Marinka van Dam-Bogaerts. Father of a daughter and three sons.
Studied Arabic and Political & Social Sciences at the University of Amsterdam (cum laude), where he obtained the degree of Doctor in Literature in 1977.

1970-1975 Taught Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Amsterdam.
1974-1975 Interpreter of Arabic.
1975-1980 Staff Member of the Middle East Section of the Directorate General of Political Affairs at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
1980-1983 First Secretary at the Netherlands Embassy in Beirut, covering Lebanon, Jordan and Cyprus.
1983-1985 Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Netherlands in Tripoli, Libya.
1985-1988 Deputy Director for African and Middle Eastern Affairs at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

1988-1991 Ambassador of the Netherlands in Baghdad, Iraq (accredited until 2004).
1991-1996 Ambassador of the Netherlands in Cairo, covering Egypt and Palestinian occupied territories.
1996-1999 Ambassador of the Netherlands in Ankara, covering Turkey and Azerbaijan.
1999-2005 Ambassador of the Netherlands in Bonn & Berlin, Germany.
2005- Ambassador of the Netherlands in Jakarta (credentials presented on 8 September 2005), covering Indonesia and Timor-Leste (credentials presented on 8 February 2006).

Decorations
* Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau – The Netherlands (1983).
* Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau – The Netherlands (1991).
* Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (2003).
* Knight Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2005).

Languages
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German and Indonesian.

Publications (some downable)
* The Struggle for Power in Syria. Politics and Society under Asad and the Ba'th Party (also in Arabic and Turkish).
* الصراع على السلطة فى سوريا: الطائفية واﻹقليمية والعشائرية فى السياسة - الطبعة الإلكترونية
* De vrede die niet kwam. Twintig jaar diplomaat in het Midden-Oosten (The peace that did not come. Twenty years as a diplomat in the Middle East) (& Jan Keulen) (also as audiobook and in braille).
* Nederland en de Arabische Wereld: van Middeleeuwen tot Twintigste Eeuw (The Netherlands and the Arab World: from the Middle Ages until the Twentieth Century) (ed.).
* هولندا والعالم العربي منذ القرون الوسطى حتى القرن العشرين

Articles in Acta Politica, al-Ahram, All4Syria, Asian Affairs, Bibliotheca Orientalis, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, al-Diyar, al-Hayat, Internationale Spectator, The Jakarta Post, Kompas, Majallat Markaz al-Dirasat al-Filastiniyah, Middle East International, The Middle East Journal, Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, The Muslim World, Orient, Orientations, al-Qabas, Republika, al-Safir, Soera, Spieghel Historiael, Syrian Studies Association Newsletter, Die Welt des Islams, Tempo, Tijdschrift voor Moderne Geschiedenis, Vrij Nederland, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. (www.rainbowdiplomacy.com/www.mfa.nl)